Free First Kiss (Emma's Arabian Nights, #1) by Ann Mayburn Page A

to send Emma’s sisters to college. Then her dad lost his job, her mom lost her job, and when they both lost their retirement benefits, they were basically fucked. What little savings they had got burned through in the first six months. I don’t need to tell you how hard it is to find decent employment right now, let alone when you’re in your sixties and living out in the fucking boonies. Emma’s sisters help out as much as they can, but no one in her family is rich and without Emma, her parents would be homeless pretty quick.”
    “Fuck.” Ryan rubbed his face, trying to clear his head of his emotional response enough to really think about this situation. “Is it really that hard for Emma to find a teaching job?”
    “Around here? Hell, yes. Think about how many teachers are graduating from all the universities in Michigan. Now add in the fact that the teachers with tenure positions are staying at their jobs as long as they can because, more often than not, they’re the ones that are bringing home the bacon and the health insurance. Oh, I’m sure she could get a job at some shit-ass tiny town school or in the ghetto, but from what I’ve learned about Emma, I don’t think that fits her profile. It sure as hell wouldn’t pay enough to help keep her parents afloat.”
    “I’ll take care of them,” Ryan said abruptly. “Shit, you know I have more money than I can spend. Paying off their mortgages and giving them a monthly allowance wouldn’t even faze me.”
    Justan held his hand up. “Hold your horses there, kemosabe . Do you really think Emma is the kind of woman that wouldn’t flip her shit if she found out you did that behind her back?”
    “What are you talking about? She’d be happy to see her parents taken care of.”
    “Oh, I don’t doubt that. She’s not stupid. But you’d blow any chance you had with her right the fuck out of the water. If she was one of those women that liked being a damsel in distress, she might let you get away with riding in on your white horse to save the day, but she isn’t. That woman is about as independent as they come, and if you did that, you’d lose not only her trust, but you would also damage her self-respect. Don’t think that she does her pro-Domme thing only because of the money. She loves it and she’s very good at what she does and has a select and very loyal clientele to prove it. Besides, how would you explain knowing about her parents? You’d come off as some kind of stalker.”
    “You’re the fucking stalker.”
    “True.” Justan leaned forward. “Face it, Ryan. Your woman is going to expect things out of you that I don’t know if you have it in you to give. I know you, and I know that you’re an Alpha dog that’ll tear anyone apart that gets near your bitch. But you have to face the fact that she is going to be with other men, and she is going to enjoy it, because that’s who she is.”
    His stomach clenched with anger. “So you think I’ll never be enough for her?”
    “Honestly, I have no clue. Can you deal with the idea that whatever she did with you last night is something she’s probably already done a hundred times with some other dude? Or that the next time she works, some stranger will be making her climax all over his face?”
    The thought of Emma being with another man, doing the things she’d done with Ryan last night, sent a wave of possessive jealousy roar through him.
    “Watch your fucking mouth.”
    Justan rolled his eyes. “Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I was merely saying that for Emma, being a Domme isn’t just a bullshit role to earn a buck. Whatever it is that makes someone a Dominant, that woman has it in spades and she knows it. She’s been active in the local scene for years, even before she went pro. If you plan on really being with her, you need to realize that she’s going to push your comfort zones.”
    “Bullshit. I trained with a Domme and did some crazy ass shit with her. There isn’t